The legal and judicial systems obviously could determine where Foster’s path goes from here, and that could be one to four years in jail if found guilty of domestic violence, not to mention another year or more for the assault weapon, according to the state penal code.

Football-wise, Foster’s second arrest within the month makes him highly vulnerable to miss multiple games next season.

The NFL’s personal-conduct policy is in play, and a domestic-violence case commands a six-game suspension. The Dallas Cowboys repeatedly challenged that last year, until running back Ezekiel Elliott succumbed at midseason and served his time; criminal charges weren’t pursued a year earlier.

Foster’s arrest in Alabama last month for second-degree marijuana possession also could yield discipline. He entered the league’s substance-abuse program at last year’s scouting combine with a failed drug test from a diluted urine sample, which he’s acknowledged.

— Might the 49ers release him?

The 49ers knew Foster came with question marks when they drafted him in last year’s first round, and the initial instinct is they’ll stand by their man. But what if details of his arrest prove more dark and disturbing?

The 49ers haven’t commented on Foster’s release other than a stand-by statement how they take “matters of this nature seriously” and are investigating, as is the NFL.

General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have shown little hesitation in cutting ties with players, but last year’s exodus were holdovers from Trent Baalke’s GM days. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman and cornerback Rashard Robinson went from starters to outcasts last season, and while neither had the off-field rap sheet Foster is compiling, their exits showed this regime’s willingness to make daring moves.

The 49ers ownership, criticized for how it handled players’ widespread arrests from 2012-14, hasn’t tolerated troublemakers in recent years. Fullback Bruce Miller and cornerback Tramaine Brock were cut within 24 hours of their arrests on assault charges in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

“My first time going through it, I found out how hard it is to kind of get all the information,” Shanahan said last April after Brock’s release. “So, we spent most of the day trying to figure out all the information you can, as much as you can get, and you never do get all of it, but there was enough there that we felt it was the decision we had to make and move on from.”

On the flip side, the 49ers have shown every intention of helping Foster mature, and they have the resources to do so, as long as he is willing to accept guidance.

— What are the roster contingencies?

Foster and Malcolm Smith figured to establish themselves as a premier duo at inside linebacker this year. A pectoral tear sidelined Smith last season after he arrived as a high-priced free agent, so we haven’t seen him play with Foster.

Brock Coyle, a plug-in starter last season in the wake of Smith’s injury and NaVorro Bowman’s Week 6 release, is a free agent who’s now a higher priority to re-sign. It’s slim pickings, for now, regarding other free-agent options, of which Bowman is an unlikely one.

The draft should produce a linebacker prospect among the 49ers’ nine picks. If anything, the 49ers need depth there, too.

Foster insisted he’s not injury prone despite missing six games – five for a sprained ankle, one for a tight back. Repeated nerve stingers in his neck and shoulder required medical attention on the field through the 49ers’ 5-0 December revival. Shanahan half-jokingly said he’d stop going onto the field to check on Foster’s health until it was serious.

“I want to be a wild guy on the field,” Foster said before last season’s finale. “I’ve got to learn my techniques and fundamentals and really do things right because I want to play this game for a very, very long time.”

The 49ers have two months until players are due back for the nine-week, offseason program, which is voluntary up until a mandatory minicamp in mid-June.

“Everybody likes the feeling of winning and coming in on a ‘Victory Monday,’ not worrying about how we lost and what play you messed up or got blown up on,” Foster said Dec. 28. “We’re going to come back next year with the mentality of starting strong and finishing strong.”

— What fair comparisons can be made?

Social media’s town criers promptly dubbed Foster as “Aldon Smith 2.0,” and however unfair that is, fans naturally fear that another young superstar might waste his talent.

Smith’s been suspended since November 2015, after earlier discipline by the NFL couldn’t keep him in line. The 49ers cut Smith after five arrests in three years, the final straw being an August 2015 arrest for alleged drunk driving.

Sadly, the 49ers nor the NFL lack other examples of players who’ve had a pattern of off-field woes. Ahmad Brooks and Ray McDonald aren’t that far removed from their 49ers expulsion.

Four years ago, Dez Bryant agreed to the Dallas Cowboys’ customized guidelines to stabilize his career, including a three-man security team that watched his moves. Will it come to that with Foster, whose gone from racking up hard-hitting tackles to offseason mugshots, not to forget last season’s San Francisco nightclub incident in which he and Ray-Ray Armstrong allegedly avoided being victims of armed robbers?

Comparing Foster to NFL miscreants may be premature. Or it may not be.